Spirit of Christmas - Part 8
by Melissa Rivers
Summary: It's nearly Christmas in the ER and a few surprises abound


SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS  
by Missy  
(missy@lexicon.net)  
  
DISCLAIMER: The characters of ER are the property of Michael  
Crichton, Warner Bros. Constant Productions and Amblin Television  
and the actors who so marvellously portray them.  
  
Any comments and/or constructive criticism will be gratefully  
received at the above e-mail address.  
  
PART 8/?  
  
"Damn." Carter swore to himself. Carter gently eased Kerry to the  
floor, her small body quickly becoming a dead weight in his arms.   
  
Meredith had heard him swear and turned just in time to see Carter  
lowering Kerry to the floor.  
  
"Meredith, get a gurney. Ask Randi to call for another surgical  
consult and pull Dr. Weaver's medical records for blood type, stat."  
  
Not needing to be told twice, she left to get the gurney. As she passed  
Conni and Chuny, she directed them to the lifts to help Carter.  
  
"What happened Carter?" Conni asked, finding Carter kneeling  
beside Kerry, stethoscope to her chest.  
  
"GSW" Carter responded, flicking the scope back around his neck.  
  
Meredith returned with a gurney and in syncopation, they moved  
Kerry from the floor.  
  
"Trauma One is free and clear." Meredith informed him. They  
pushed the trolley quickly towards Trauma One, passing Mark along  
the way.  
  
Catching sight of the occupant of the gurney, he was worried about  
what had caused Kerry to collapse. He had heard about Kerry's grand  
mal seizure during the chemical spill earlier in the year and seeing her  
unconscious sent chills down his spine.  
  
"What happened Carter?" Mark asked as he followed the group into  
Trauma One.  
  
"Dr. Weaver's got a GSW to her upper left leg. She must have been  
shot earlier." Carter said as all the staff used complete blood  
precautions of gloves, glasses and protective covering.  
  
"Didn't anybody notice?"  
  
"I don't think she even noticed. If she did, she chose to ignore it."  
Carter responded. "Get a mask on her."  
  
"I didn't. She cracked Jerry and you wouldn't have even known she  
had been shot." Chuny responded as she pulled down the oxygen  
mask and slipped it over Kerry's nose and mouth.  
  
Randi popped her head in the door. "I've paged Benton. Weaver's  
type is O neg."  
  
"Thanks Randi." Mark said.  
  
Meredith connected the pulse ox. monitor and Conni began cutting  
away the leg of Kerry's trousers.   
The black material was sodden with blood, making it difficult to cut.  
  
"BPs 70 over 50." Chuny reported.  
  
" Pulse 140. Pulse ox is down to 86." Meredith interjected.  
  
"Two units of saline wide open." Carter ordered.  
  
As Conni continued to cut away the trousers from the wound, blood  
spurted out with each heartbeat. "We've got an arterial bleed here."  
she warned.  
  
"Two units of O neg. on the rapid infuser. Set up a dopamine drip."  
Mark instructed. "CBC, Chem-7, coag panel, H&H & ABG."   
  
"Call radiology. We need a left upper extremity film."  
  
- 0 0 0 -  
  
Dr. Goldberg surveyed the admit board, gaining an immediate sense  
of the extent of injuries sustained. However, it did not tell him how  
many were staff at County General. He had been going through the  
files Mark Greene had provided him with, allowing him an overview  
of the running of County's ER Department, when he had been  
informed of the shooting. It had dragged him away from the  
administrative work he loved, the files he had been reading were  
extensive, giving a full and rounded view of all aspects of the ER.   
  
Being down here at the grass level of the ER was not something he  
enjoyed. He had shot through the ranks, doing his journal articles and  
research reports, attaining acclaim to enable him to make his way up  
the medical administration ladder.  
  
"Doctor, why aren't you treating these patients?" he asked of Randi  
as she made further calls to arrange for further surgical, orthopaedic  
and paediatric consults. "These calls should be made by the clerk."  
  
"I am the Acting Unit Services Co-ordinator." Randi informed him  
shortly, with a certain amount of disdain in her voice. She already  
had no respect of this new Chief who failed to notice that she was the  
same person with whom he had spoken twice that day.  
  
"It would help if you wore more appropriate attire than scrubs."  
  
"I agree. The colour just doesn't do anything for my complexion."  
she replied sarcastically.  
  
"Where's Dr. Greene?" He asked, not sure how to handle the sarcasm  
and with the current state of affairs, he did not need to think about it.  
  
"Trauma One." Randi responded as she finished the call, going across  
to the board to insert Dr. Weaver's name in Trauma One.  
  
It was then it dawned on her that Dr. Goldberg didn't know Dr.  
Weaver was the patient in Trauma One.  
  
- 0 0 0 -  
  
Benton rushed in Trauma One, putting on the protective clothing as  
he absorbed the fact that all the other staff was implementing this  
precaution. "You paged me?"   
  
He had just arrived at the surgical floor when his pager went off,  
demanding his return to the ER. It was bedlam with patients having  
to be triaged in order of their injuries for surgery. Although, they had  
the equipment and room for surgery with ten operating rooms, they  
did not have all available staff in the department as yet.  
  
"Yeah. GSW to the left upper leg." Mark informed him.  
  
Benton examined the injury.   
  
"We're putting in two units of O neg and two of saline. I've ordered  
an x-ray."  
  
"It looks like its hit the lateral femoral artery but there is pre-existing  
muscle and tissue damage to the leg. Can we roll her." It was the  
first time Benton took time to actually look at the patient and he was  
shocked to find it was Kerry "Kerry?"  
  
He looked across at Mark, silently questioning what had happened.  
  
"There hasn't been any more shooting. She must have worked on  
Jerry with her leg like this."  
  
Rolling Kerry, Benton check for an exit wound and found none.   
They gently eased her back onto her back.  
  
"I'll book the OR but we're overloaded until more staff arrives"   
Benton packed the open wound with gauze. "Order another two units  
of blood. I would say it will be at least at hour before we can get her  
up."  
  
"Pulse ox is 92, she's coming around."  
  
"Kerry." Mark said gently.  
  
Kerry opened her eyes slowly. She frowned as she recognised the  
room and the faces peering down at her. Automatically, she closed  
her eyes again, hoping that the scene would not be the same when she  
reopened them.  
  
"Kerry." Mark gently stroked the side of her face.  
  
Reluctantly she opened her eyes.  
  
"Mark." Her voice was muffled by the oxygen mask.   
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Mark had to smile. This was Kerry's standard answer whenever he  
queried whether she needed a break, never one to admit that she had  
had enough.  
  
"Kerry, you've been shot in your left leg. Can you move your toes for  
me?" Benton asked.  
  
She slowly moved her toes. "Is there an exit?"  
  
"No. We've booked you in to have it removed and control the  
bleeding. It's hit the lateral femoral artery."  
  
Kerry absorbed this information, then suddenly remembered her  
niece. "Oh my gosh. Jess!" She struggled to sit up.  
  
"Don't worry about Jess. Jeanie has been looking after her." Mark  
pushed Kerry gently back, finding little resistance. He hoped Jeanie  
was looking out for Kerry's niece because in all the ruckus, he had  
completely forgotten about her.  
  
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"  
  
"Three"  
  
Benton and Mark exchanged glances. They wondered why they had  
even bothered to ask the question because they weren't going to rely  
on the answer.   
  
"Okay Kerry, you just rest now."  
  
"Carter, give her 15 migs of morphine IV infusion."  
  
"15 migs"  
  
"Yes, Carter, fifteen migs."  
  
Benton confirmed his support of Mark's decision. He had seen Kerry  
Weaver work with an arterial bleed. There was no possibility that her  
understanding of pain was on the usual scale that they tested most  
patients with. They would also use it as an adjunct to the anaesthesia  
for surgery.  
  
  
"Dr. Greene"  
  
Mark looked up at Dr. Goldberg as he walked through the swinging  
doors to Trauma One. He waited for him to continue, sure that Dr.  
Goldberg would not be at a loss for words after what Kerry had told  
him about her experiences.  
  
"What's the current situation?"  
  
"Four critical GSWs are currently in surgery and there are another  
four still waiting to go." Mark moved from Kerry's side, removing his  
protective clothing and gloves, tossing them in the bin beside the  
door.  
  
"Dr. Anspaugh has called all surgical staff that he can contact to come  
in."  
  
Mark nodded in acknowledgement.   
  
"How many of our own staff went down?"  
  
"Four with GSWs. Two attendings, one nurse and a clerk." He didn't  
think it dawned on Dr. Goldberg how much the loss of these staff,  
even for a short period of time, was going to impact on the ER.  
  
"That many?"  
  
"I think we got off lightly considering the kid was carrying two guns.   
If he had been a crack shot, it would have been a lot worse."   
  
"Yes. You're quite right. Now, administration wants me to give a  
press release, I need some details of the full extent of the injuries."   
Dr. Goldberg looked expectantly at Mark as they arrived at the central  
work station.  
  
"Dr. Greene, we've got a code in Exam 5." Lily ran up to Mark at the  
desk.  
  
"Randi, can you give Dr. Goldberg a rundown of the injuries from the  
shooting including majors and minors."  
  
Dr. Goldberg didn't seem to pleased to be left with Randi giving him  
the information but he knew there was little choice in the matter.  
  
"Yep." Randi replied going to the closest computer to download the  
information they had thus far.  
  
"What is it?" Mark raced down the hallway with Lily keeping pace  
at his side.  
  
"Heart attack. Woman suffering lacs from the glass. As Jeanie was  
treating her cuts, she started complaining of chest pains. As we got  
her on the monitor, she went into v-tach."  
  
- 0 0 0 -  
  
David Morganstern walked determinedly through the crowd of  
television crews, newspaper reporters and inquisitive general public.   
The area outside the hospital had been cordoned of by police,  
allowing only hospital staff and genuine relatives to enter. He  
flashed his old id. tag which he had initially forgotten to return and  
upon locating it, had decided to keep it as a momento of his days at  
County, never imagining that he would need to use it again.  
  
Once he had heard the newsflash of the shooting in the ER, David has  
rushed down to help in whatever way he could. Having been  
involved in the earthquake drama at another hospital in his early days  
as an attending, he was well aware that it was at this time that  
practical assistance would be of some use to the department,  
especially if the injuries to staff that had been reported was true.  
  
"Randi, where's Dr. Weaver?" David Morganstern asked as he  
reached the central work station.  
  
Surprised to see Dr. Morganstern, she automatically replied "Trauma  
One"  
  
As he went down to Trauma One, he found Carter and Benton  
looking at the x-rays that had just been obtained on Kerry, just  
outside the trauma rooms. Benton had been allocated to serve as the  
consultant for all surgical patients.   
  
"Peter. Where's Kerry?"   
  
"Dr. Morganstern. What are you doing here?" Peter was surprised to  
see his mentor back in the hospital.   
  
"I heard about the shooting on the news and came down to offer some  
assistance, if you need it. I was going to ask Kerry what I could do to  
help. I was told she was in Trauma One." Dr. Morganstern looked  
into the Trauma Room for Kerry but could only see the nurses in the  
room.  
  
"She is. Dr. Morganstern, Dr. Weaver is the patient." Peter  
continued as he saw the worry etch David's face. "She's got a GSW  
to the left femoral artery. We're waiting for the OR to take her. Have  
a look at the x-ray."  
  
- 0 0 0 -  
  
"Let's call it. Time of death 1.34 a.m." Mark said. The trauma of  
the shooting had caused the woman to suffer a myocardial infarction.   
This was not uncommon to occur as a result of a shooting such as  
had taken place that evening.   
  
Signing the chart, Mark left the room with Jeanie leaving Lily and  
Amara to complete the death kit on the patient.   
  
"Jeanie, I don't know if you have heard but Kerry was also shot."   
  
"But....." Jeanie was stunned. She had seen Kerry take Jerry into  
Trauma One after the shooting.  
  
"I know. She didn't say anything about it." Mark commented dryly.   
"She collapsed from blood loss but she's okay. The bullet hit the  
lateral femoral artery and is still lodged in her leg. Benton's arranged  
for her to be operated on but it's going to take time. Where's her  
niece?"  
  
"Jess? I'd forgotten all about her." Jeanie thought for a moment.   
"It's okay. Kerry put her to sleep earlier in the resident's room."  
  
Together they went to check up on the little girl, gently easing the  
door open, not wanting to wake her. Both were shocked to find that  
the bed was vacant. Turning on the light, they could find no sign of  
Jess.   
  
"Where is she?" Mark asked.  
  
END PART 8/?  



End file.
